IMMUNE SYSTEM

Fight cold and flu with these simple tips.

With the flu at epidemic levels this season—at last count it was still causing misery in 37 states—keeping your immune system in fighting form is a must. “The immune system is our body’s main line of defense against the bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that try to cultivate infections there,” says Janko Nikolich-Zugich, M.D., Ph.D., head of the department of immunobiology at the University of Arizona Health Sciences in Tucson. It can even put the brakes on rogue cells that could turn into cancer.

But while you may know where your circulatory and digestive systems are, the immune system is harder to pinpoint. “Because its purpose is defense it has to be everywhere,” says Nikolich-Zugich. Every part of your body—including the lymphatic system, cardiovascular system, GI tract, sexual reproductive system, airways and skin—is lined with immune cells.

When a microbe determined to make us sick attacks, the immune system leaps into action, releasing special proteins, molecules and cells to kill the invader, wherever it may be. That process triggers an inflammatory response—characterized by redness, swelling, heat and pain—that subsides once the immune system has done its job.

But starting around age 65, the production of immune cells drops and your immune system weakens. That may be why people 65 and older account for about 90 percent of flu- and pneumoniarelated deaths each year, why it takes longer for wounds to heal in older people and why the risk of cancer rises as you age.

Generally, what’s good for overall health is also good for your immune system. Here are eight simple strategies that’ll help keep yours in fighting form.